El Cajon will cover costs of new ordinance

EL CAJON  There will be no cost to liquor store owners at the start El Cajon's effort to implement new alcohol sales regulations.

Last month, the El Cajon City Council unanimously adopted a law known as a deemed-approved ordinance that the city officials say will provide better control of alcohol sales in the city. The law goes into effect Nov. 1 and is aimed at those businesses that sell to underage buyers, serial inebriates and people listed on a "do not sell" list.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to set the initial annual regulatory fee associated with the ordinance at zero for the first two years, meaning the city will pay for administration and enforcement of the ordinance, estimated by city staff to be nearly $25,000 annually.

City Manager Doug Williford said that if expenses go higher than $25,000, the city will reconsider how it will pay for the ordinance's cost.

"As the implementation plays out over next couple of years," Williford said, "if we find that the costs are significantly above that, we will bring that information back to the City Council."

City Councilman Gary Kendrick said that by taking on the fee through Nov. 1, 2015, rather than assessing store owners, the city is sending a message to the small businesses in El Cajon.

"There have been some concerns by retailers," Kendrick said. "We are pro-business here. The businesses that are operating legally say, 'Do something about this problem we have.' By having zero fee, then there is no effect on businesses that operate legally. It's important that those operating legal businesses are not burdened by any kind of fee or regulations."